Are e-scooters legal in Australia?

There's no single Australian answer. Every state and territory makes its own rules, and they really do differ. Compare them below, or go straight to your state.

Shawn B · Legal editor Last updated 15 Oct 2026

State by state

Where	The answer	Footpaths	Which roads	Your top speed	Minimum age	Helmet	Licence & rego
New South Wales	Illegal	No	Hire trials only	20 km/h in trials (10 on paths)	16 (trials)	Yes	Exempt in trials; your own gets neither
Victoria	Legal, with conditions	No	Roads signed 60 or less	20 km/h everywhere	16	Yes	No
Queensland	Legal, with conditions	Yes	Roads signed 60 or less	25 km/h (12 on footpaths)	16, or 12 supervised	Yes	Driver licence, with exemptions
Western Australia	Legal, with conditions	Yes	Roads signed 50 or less	25 km/h (10 on footpaths)	16	Yes	No
South Australia	Legal, with conditions	Yes	Roads signed 50 or less	25 km/h (10 on footpaths)	16	Yes	No
Tasmania	Legal, with conditions	Yes	Roads signed 50 or less, undivided	25 km/h (15 on footpaths)	16	Yes	No
Australian Capital Territory	Legal, with conditions	Yes	Only when there's no path	25 km/h (15 on footpaths)	None; under-12s supervised	Yes	No
Northern Territory	Illegal	No	None	10 km/h (toy class only)	18+ (hire only)	Yes (all legal riding)	Both required, rego unobtainable

Last checked 15 OCT 2026 How we check

Every cell comes from that state's own page, where the same fact is cited to the legislation it comes from.

The short version

Each state and territory in a sentence

New South Wales

Mostly no. You can't legally ride your own e-scooter anywhere public in NSW. Only hire-scheme scooters inside the two gazetted trial areas are legal, and that trial ends on 22 January 2027. Full rules →

Victoria

Yes, legal state-wide, but under Australia's strictest conditions. You need to be 16, wear a helmet, keep to 20 km/h, and stay off footpaths entirely. Since February 2026, private riders must use a class A scooter. Full rules →

Queensland

Yes, but since 31 August 2026 you generally need to be 16 and hold a driver licence. Supervised riders 12 and up, medical exemptions and trails are exempt. Footpaths are capped at 12 km/h and helmets are compulsory. Full rules →

Western Australia

Yes. WA calls them electric rideable devices, legal since December 2021, with no licence or registration. You need to be 16 and wear a helmet. It's 25 km/h on paths and low-speed roads, but only 10 km/h on footpaths. Full rules →

South Australia

Yes. Private e-scooters became legal on 13 July 2025, as personal mobility devices. You need to be 16 and wear a helmet. It's 10 km/h on footpaths, 25 km/h on roads signed to 50 km/h. No licence or rego. Full rules →

Tasmania

Yes. Since December 2021, e-scooters that meet Tasmania's personal mobility device limits are legal on footpaths, shared paths and low-speed roads. You need to be 16, wear a helmet, and keep to the speed caps. Full rules →

Australian Capital Territory

Yes, legal since December 2019. Ride on footpaths and shared paths, at 15 km/h on footpaths and 25 km/h elsewhere. Roads are off-limits whenever a path is available. Helmet required, no passengers. Full rules →

Northern Territory

Almost entirely no. The NT has no e-scooter rules, so a private e-scooter is a motor vehicle you can't register, which makes it illegal anywhere public. Only Darwin's hire scheme and a 200-watt toy class are legal. Full rules →

Page history

Every change across these pages

15 Oct 2026: QLD: Corrected the source of the 28 February 2027 older-device deadline. A register-direct read confirmed the regulation that section 245(3) points to has been made: section 177 of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management—Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015, inserted by the 2026 e-mobility amendment Act (Act No. 13) and in force from 1 July 2026, prescribes 28 February 2027 as the end of the transitional period, and section 245(1) applies that transition to personal mobility devices. The date is now cited to that regulation as a matter of law, with StreetSmarts kept as supporting context. The 9 October entry's statement that no such regulation had been made is superseded.
13 Oct 2026: QLD: Added the exemptions to the 16-and-licence rule that took effect on 31 August 2026: riders 12 and over with a parent, grandparent or guardian supervising, people 16 and over with a medical exemption certificate, and riding on signposted public mountain-bike trails and rail trails or private cycling facilities. The page had said these were still to come. Also corrected the licence wording: the Act accepts interstate and foreign licences.
10 Oct 2026: NSW: Register re-check, read direct from the NSW legislation registers. The Road Rules 2014 (current version 27 March 2026) and the Road Transport (General) Regulation 2021 (current version 9 October 2026) were reconfirmed. The $144 and $434 fines under cl 134, and the repeal of the electric-scooter trial provisions on 22 January 2027 under rule 262-15, are all unchanged.
10 Oct 2026: SA: Fines re-read from the South Australian registers. The speeding, prohibited-road, passenger, towing and helmet fines are unchanged, and each is now cited to Schedule 4 of the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous) Regulations 2014, where it is set. The $133 no-helmet fine now points to the bicycle helmet rule in the Australian Road Rules, which applies to e-scooter riders. We removed a $72 figure for phone use, because the regulations do not print a separate phone fine for e-scooter riders. The victims-of-crime levy is now cited to the Victims of Crime (Fund and Levy) Regulations 2018: $108 for an adult, and $20 for a rider under 18, which we have added. Verdict unchanged.
10 Oct 2026: TAS: Re-checked the 2026–27 penalty-unit value of $213 against the notice that sets it, in Tasmanian Government Gazette No. 22575 (27 May 2026). The notice is now cited alongside the Department of Justice page. The fines ($4,260, $1,065 and $426) are unchanged.
10 Oct 2026: NT: Updated to the current Beam hire-scheme exemption, read at the Northern Territory gazette: Gazette G15, 30 July 2026, in effect for two years from 1 August 2026. The rider conditions now follow that exemption, including the bans on Bagot Road, Trower Road and the Stuart Highway, and the 8pm to 6am curfew on Mitchell Street between Peel and Knuckey Streets. We removed an end date for the City of Darwin's Beam partnership that we could not confirm from an official source. Verdict unchanged.
9 Oct 2026: VIC: Cluster re-check against the Victorian register. All extracts, the $209.10 penalty unit (2026–27) and every fine confirmed current; the Road Rules version (026) has not moved. Repointed the Road Safety Act 1986 source to its current in-force version (237, as at 30 September 2026); the earlier version (236) was superseded on 15 April 2026. The quoted sections 3, 49 and 68A are identical in both versions, so no quoted text changed.
9 Oct 2026: QLD: Cluster re-check against the Queensland register. The 31 August 2026 reforms are confirmed commenced and in force, and the penalty unit ($172.70 for 2026–27) and every fine are confirmed current. Corrected the 28 February 2027 device deadline: it is StreetSmarts's compliance date for limiting older devices to 25 km/h, not a cut-off in the Act — s 245 leaves that to a regulation not yet made — so it is now attributed to the regulator rather than cited to the legislation.
9 Oct 2026: WA: Cluster re-check against the WA register. Every extract, the $50 penalty unit and all fines confirmed current at the register; no substantive change. The Road Traffic Code and Vehicles Regulations compilations moved to May and July 2026 amendments that do not touch the e-rideable provisions quoted here.
9 Oct 2026: ACT: Cluster re-check against the ACT register. Every extract, the $160 penalty unit and all fines confirmed current; no substantive change. The Offences Regulation and Legislation Act republications moved on only (Rep 105 from 1 August 2026 and Rep 126 from 23 February 2026), with no change to the quoted provisions or amounts.
9 Oct 2026: NT: Re-checked against the Northern Territory register. The verdict, the offences and the $194 penalty unit (2026–27) are confirmed current. The toy-scooter exception now uses the regulation's exact wording. The Beam exemption we had verified ended on 30 June 2026, so the Beam wording was updated while we confirmed its replacement.
3 Sept 2026: QLD: The 31 August 2026 licence and minimum-age rules have commenced — the Road Rules reprint current from 31 August 2026 states every provision has commenced. The page was still written as though they were coming. Facts unchanged, tense corrected.
29 Aug 2026: TAS: Fines rechecked against Tasmania's official penalty-unit value, which rose to $213 on 1 July 2026. The figures shown were already correct. Transport Tasmania's guidance was rechecked too.
28 Aug 2026: NSW: Fines updated for the 1 July 2026 indexation: the general offence rose from $140 to $144, and riding without a helmet from $423 to $434.
27 Aug 2026: NSW: First published. Current to the NSW Road Rules, with the trial framework set to end on 22 January 2027.
27 Aug 2026: VIC: First published. Current to the Victorian Road Rules as at 18 February 2026, including the new class A, B and C scooter system.
27 Aug 2026: QLD: First published, days before the 31 August 2026 licence rule starts. Current to the 1 July 2026 Queensland reforms.
27 Aug 2026: WA: First published. Current to the WA Road Traffic Code as at 14 May 2026, including the May 2026 relaxation of the road rules.
27 Aug 2026: SA: First published. Current to South Australia's personal mobility device rules, which started on 13 July 2025.
27 Aug 2026: TAS: First published. Current to the Tasmanian Road Rules as at 11 December 2025.
27 Aug 2026: ACT: First published. Current to the ACT Road Rules as at 3 November 2025 and the Offences Regulation as at 1 August 2026.
27 Aug 2026: NT: First published. The Darwin hire-scheme exemption is shown as last extended to 30 June 2026, with its current status still being confirmed.